Boat and its propeller.



O A. W. RIECKS.

BOAT AND ITS PROPELLER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-8.1915.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

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BOAT AND ITS PROPELLER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8.1915.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

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v BOAT AND ITS PROPELLER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTo A. W. RmoKs, a

citizen of the United States, residing at My invention relates to new and useful improvements in boats and more partlcularly of the submarine or submergible type,

the primary object of my invention being the provision of a new and improved'form of propeller for driving such boats.

The forms of propellers now largely in use are such that they often become entangled in thick seaweed or, in case of war, in nets set to catch a submarine.

My present invention provides a propelgm ler of the helical screw type having sharp cutting edges. which will absolutely prevent its becoming entangled in weeds or nets.

A still further object of my invention con-' sists in so constructing and mounting the propeller that it may also be utilized as a rudder for steering the boat which it drives, and in providing a novel controlling mechanism for the propeller to permit its use as a rudder.

trated in the accompanying drawings, and I then specifically pointed out in the claim which is attached to and forms a part of this application.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of my 1mproved submarine; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational ,view, partly in section, illustrating the com- E0 bined propeller and rudder and method of,

- mountlng and controlling it;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the stern w of'the boat, further illustratingqthe manner,

of mounting the rudder; Fig. 4 is a top plan view, partlally 1n sec- "tion, of the bow of the boat, showing the Specification of Letters Patent.

conical and the stern somewhat flattened and A further object of my invention consists in a novel arrangement of port holes and Patented Apr. 245., tea 7.

Application filed November 8, 1915. Serial No. 60,321.

method of mounting and operating the diving wings or blades;

3 Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the wings and of the means provided for housing the wing;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of my improved propeller applied to a conventional form of launch;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the propeller blade.

Corresponding and like parts are referred k to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters. v

The body 10 of my'improved submarine may be made, in any desired size and shape, although I prefer substantially the shape illustrated in Fig. 1 in which the bow is widened. The bow, in any event, is preferably provided with a heavy steel remand above this ram with a torpedo tube 12. Im-' mediately at the rear of this tube, I provide a port hole 13 which is, of course, closed by so heavy plate glass. Centrally of the top of the boat I provide a depressed portion 14 having front and rear walls 15 and 16,'the front wall being formed with a port hole 17 closed by heavy glass .18. Both of the port holes 13 and 17 may be provided interiorly with metallic closures, one of which is shown at 19, which may be clamped in closed position when desired by any suitable mechanism, such as a clamping screwand wing nut 20. As will be clear by reference to Fig.

4 of the drawings, these port holes are relatively close together so that any one, by merely turning, may look either ahead in the direction the boat is going orback over the course which it has come.\ Obviously, although these ports permit" such vision, it 7 Will be diflicult to look to either side from the ports and for this reason I provide a pair of mirrors 21 which I mount against the rear inclined wall 16 with their inner edges engaging each other. These mirrors are set at an angle to each other, as shown in Fig. 4, and will, therefore, reflect ob ects at either side in such a manner that anyone looking through the port hole 17 at the m1rrors may see objects at the sides of the boat. As a means for vertically directing the boat to submerge it or bring it to the sur-' face, as the casemay be, I provide apalr of diving blades or wings 22 disposed near the forward end of the boat and one at elther side thereof and at such a level as to be sub merged in the water, even when the boat is traveling upon the surface of the water. The boat at opposite sides is formed with alined bearings to rotatably receive cylindrical heads 24 mounted upon opposite ends of a shaft 25 which may be turned by a hand lever or other suitable mechanism 26. The heads 24, at their outer ends, are formed with spaced ears to pivotally receive the forward ends of the blades 22, as shown at 27, and it will therefore be clear that the rear ends of the blades may be raised or lowered by turning of the shaft 25. Of course, when the rear ends of the blades are elevated, the blades will direct the boat downwardly, while the boat will be directed upwardly when the rear ends of the blades are lowered. The blades normally occupy a horizontal position and, when the boat is traveling upon the surface, are usually swung inwardly to seat in chambers 28 formed in the sides of the boat. Any suitable mechanism may be provided for swinging the blades into these chambers, one form of mechanism consisting in rods 29 reciprocally mounted in the heads 24, pivoted at their outer ends to the blades 22 in spaced relation to the pivotal mounting of the blades and at their inner ends to levers 30 which are mounted for swinging movement and also so mounted so that they and their rods may turn with the shaft 25. It will, of course, be understood that the heads 24 form a fluid tight closure for the openings in the bearings 23 and that the chambers 28 do not open into the boat itself, being merely depressions or recesses formed in the .walls of the boat.,

My improved propeller mechanism, by means of which the above boat is driven, is

' best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawboat below this overhang.

ings. As thereshown, the stern of the boat I is formed with an extension or overhang 31 and the propeller shaft 32 projects through a suitable stufling box 33 in the stern of the The propeller proper includes a shaft 34 carrying a helical blade 35 having several convolutions, the diameter of the convolutions increasing gradually from the forward to the rear end of the blade in order that each successive rear convolution may offer a greater surface to the water and thus insure a powerful drive. As clearly shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the edges of the propeller blade 35 are sharpened in order that it may readily cut through any weeds or nets in which it might otherwise become entangled. This shaft 34 carrying the blade 35 is connected tothe drive shaft 32 by a universal joint 36 and at its rear end is journaled in a bearing 37 formed in the intermediate portion of the rear member of a substantially rectangular shaped frame 38. The forward portion of this frame includes shaft sections 39 extending from opposite sides of a housing 40 which surrounds the universal joint 36 and through heads 41 formed at the forward ends of the upper and lower members of the frame 38. One end of the lower shaft member 39 is journaled in a bearing 42 carried by' a bracket 43 secured to the bottom of the boat and the upper end of the other member 39 is journaled in a bearing 44 formed in the lower face of the overhang portion 31 of the boat, projecting through a stuffing box and into the boat itself.

- Keyed or otherwise secured to the inner end of this shaft member 39 is a beveled gear 45 which meshes with a beveled pinion 46 secured to one end of a controlling shaft 47 which extends to any suitable point in the boat and is there connected to any suitable steering mechanism, such as a hand wheel or lever. By this means, it will be clear that I have provided a mechanism for other. and, consequently, for swinging the propeller to one side or the other in order that it may operate not only as a propeller but as a rudder.

In order to additionally support the frame 38 and the propeller carried thereby, the lower face of the overhang 31 is provided with a turntable structure, indicated as a whole by the numeral 48 and best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. This includes a pair of concentric guide members 49 and 50 each secured by aflange to the lower face of the overhang 31* and each having a flange spaced from such face, the spaced flanges being directed toward each other to define a slot 51. The upper member of the frame 38 is provided with an arm 52 projecting through the slot 51 and havin lateral extensions upon which are journa ed rollers 53 which engage the upper .faces of the spaced flanges of the guide members 49 and 50.

From the foregoin description, taken in connection with the rawings, it is believed that the operation of my improved boat and its propeller mechanism will be readily understood, and that no further description is necessary. It should be noted, however, that the propeller is of such a type as to permit driving the boat at high speeds without IlO1Se.-

It will, of course, be apparent that my propeller may be used upon boats other than the submarine above described and that it may be rigidly mounted and used merely as a propeller and not as a combined propeller and rudder. For instance, it may be employed in-the manner shown in Fig. 6 in which it is supported by a rigid frame54 which also forms a support for the rudder 55. In this figure, I show my propeller 56 applied to a conventional form of launch is claime weenie 57. I do not, therefore, wish to in any way limit the application of my ropeller to sub marines alone, but reserve t e rlght to make any changes within the scope of the appended claim.

The propeller may be formed in one piece or it ma be made up of a body or core and a blade ormed in a number of pieces rivetedtical shaft extending through the overhanging portion of the stern, arcuate guides secured to the under face of the overhang and concentric with respect to the shaft, the guides being substantiallyIt lL-shaped in section with one arm of eac spaced from the overhang and with such arms directed toward each other, a frame carried by and mounted to turn with the shaft, an arm projectingv upwardly from the frame between the arms of the guides, laterally projecting rollers carried by the arm of the frame and engaging the upper faces of the arms of the uides to support the adjacent end of the rame for turning movement about the axis of the shaft, a shaft journaled in the frame at right angles to the first shaft, and a propeller blade carried by the second shaft.

In testimony whereof, ll afix my signature.

OTTO A. W. RlIEGKS. [1 3. s.] 

